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Seattle’s Prince: Rapper Sol On Gentrification, Advocacy And His New Music

Sol Hip-hop music has always been a socially-, politically- and culturally-driven art form, from Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five’s “The Message” to Public Enemy and Kendrick Lamar. Sol, a Seattle-born rapper, has taken the substance of his predecessors and blended it with his influences, including His Royal Badness, Prince. “Prince’s unapologetic identity helped form me even simply as a biracial kid growing up in America,” he told us. Sol’s unique Seattle upbringing has helped him create uplifting, thought-provoking music for the better part of the last seven years. He has collaborated with the likes of Macklemore and Blue Scholars; he’s opened and toured with everyone from Zion I to Lauryn Hill.

You mentioned in your 2014 interview with Earthlings Entertainment that Prince was your favorite artist of all time. His passing was hard for those close to him, and I’m sure it was also hard for all the people he touched through his art. How did Prince have an impact on the artist...